{{Comment|This is an experimental page still in development
(by [[User:MrPedroBraga|MrPedroBraga]] -- [[User talk:MrPedroBraga|talk]]).}}

Society is a construct engaged in by some animals (including humans).

Some of those species' individuals may be ''hard-wired'', neurologically speaking, to participate in it.
We call those individuals [[Allism|Allistic]].

This hard-wiring exists because in nature those who do not gather together are less likely to survive.

== Truths ==

A social truth is something which must be acknowledged as true for participation in a society.
It is also the basis for [[#Roles|Roles]].

So, certain words, behaviours, concepts, have a specific purpose within a society. This is their 'social meaning.'

Allistic individuals are able to innately absorb social truths and the social meanings of things.
[[Autism|Autistic]] individuals are not and must do so manually with much effort.

== Roles ==

A social ''role'' is a construct which can be assigned to an individual (or an individual can be assigned to a role).

There exists [[#Truths|Truths]] which dictate how individuals' behaviours correspond to roles. This set of truths is the "social norm."

A person which has proper roles is then called 'normal' (has positive connotation).
A deviant individual is 'weird' (has negative connotation).

Not having social roles leads to [[#Ostracism|Ostracism]].

There also exists miscellaneous truths about specific roles -- how the individuals in them should be treated, what they can expect of others, etc.

Those role truths can be beneficial to the individual (perks) or neutral/detrimental (duties). An individual may engage on their roles' duties to be eligible for their roles' perks. And, again, to fight [[#Ostracism|Ostracism]].

The social norm, requirements for roles, and which roles exist, will change over time.
That is because the set of all truths and all roles are 'a social construct,' that is, it exists only on the minds of the social individuals and are not a real property of the universe... even at the same place in the same time, two people will disagree ever so slightly on what roles/truths/social meanings exist.

=== Non-behaviourally assigned roles ===

As the title suggests, some roles may be assigned not by behaviour, but by some unchangeable property of the individual.

Here are some examples of how this works in human societies.

* Gender (which is assigned by the individual's sex).
* Class (spending power).
* Race/Ethnicity
* Place of Origin
* Age
* Attractiveness
* [...]

=== Examples ===

Alright, I just said lots of vague things and big words. Let's explore how it all works with some examples in human societies today.

A famous kind of role is gender-wise roles.

{{Comment|As you can see, there are so many details to learn. It's already hard for people who are wired to learn those things naturally; to us, autistics, it's a nightmare that we have to learn all this... as kids...}}

==== Man ====

A 'Man' is a sex-defined role (though it can also be applied based on presentation alone) for human males.
It includes requirements such as (non-exhaustive list):

* Erect body posture.
* Reduced physical contact with other Men.
* Participating in head communication.
* Handshakes?
* Deep, steady voice.
* Wearing specific kinds of clothing.
* Being serious / avoiding playful things.
* Avoiding the colour pink (deprecated).
* Stoicism.
* Avoiding some things which evoke fragility or delicateness -- anything that contradicts Stoicism.
* Engaging in ''The Family'' (a kind of social pattern).
* Being able to provide for ''The Family''.
* [...]

They aren't all required.

{{Comment|I said 'some,' yes, because it's odd. Things like flowery detailing, soft fabric and emotions are prohibited, but men WILL engage in delicate things -- such as fishing, designing machinery, drawing. It's all about "the way you carry yourself" more than the things themselves.}}

{{Comment|On}}

{{Comment|If you (who are probably autistic) feel confused as to how you can make sense of all of this, I must assure you that you can not.}}

There are also associated truths

{{Comment|Lots of those role truths are targets of [[#Social Alteration|Social Alteration]]}}

=== The Base Role ===

There are base roles for people who participate in society. They are attributed to 'people in general.'
They aren't executed towards 'all people,' only those who aren't ostracized.

Some example of rules associated with The Base Role are:

- Greetings -- a 'Person' must be properly 'greeted,' being shown one of a specific kind of symbols.
- 'Good morning/afternoon/night' -- a strange greeting which changes with the time of day.
- Apologies -- a 'Person' must say 'I'm sorry' or a variant to someone they did something that wasn't appreciated. Having to apologize is also seen with negative connotation.

{{Comment|When used for a social rule, phrases often loose their proper meaning. So when someone tells you 'Good morning' or 'I'm sorry' it is not about actually wishing you a good morning... or actually BEING sorry, it's about playing the role.}}

== Hierarchy ==

The perks/duties are not balanced across all roles, leaving some roles to have a relative advantage to another.

== Ostracism ==

When an individual is devoid of some social role, they are invisible and unaccounted for (at best).

They are devoid of all the 'perks' such as greetings, invitations, acknowledgement of existence and social protection against harmful behaviours of all kinds.

This apathy and disregards is incredibly painful for allistic individuals (see: [[#Shaming|Shaming]]) and, in general, is dangerous, since many individuals reserve empathy for individuals who participate in society.

== Shaming ==

Shame is a pain-like response of the brain that can arise to incentivize an individual to act according to society's expectations. It's a hard-wired neurological pattern to avoid Ostracism.

In a society, an individual may provoke shame in another (this is called shaming) in order to coerce them to behave according to social norm.

This will be done for a plethora of reasons.

* The shamer may gain something from the shamee behaving according to norm and wants to force them to do so.
* The shamer worries that the shamee will face ostracism and wants to convince them to behave according to norm to avoid that. Ironically, they will often see the word 'shaming' in a bad connotation and be convinced they aren't doing just that.
* The shamer is sadistic.
* The shamer specifically points out the flaw in the shamee's behaviour and the fact they are different from themselves in order to protect their own status (look at how this person sucks -- I'm not like them, I am deserving of a role!). Often, social individuals bond over shaming another.

{{Comment|This can be easily observed on children -- who will often point out other kids' misbehaviour or their own good behaviour to an adult in order to gain validation.}}

Avoiding shame and ostracism is one big source of [[Anxiety]] for individuals.

* [...]

== The dangers of trying to fit in too hard ==

An individual may change their behaviour in order to fit in in some role.

Individuals which have natural ways of behaving must systematically change those 'improper' behaviours in order to fit in.
That's called [[Masking]].

If an individuals' natural needs are not well balanced for their role's perks/duties, the damage caused by masking will not be compensated.

It will then inevitably lead to Depression.

== Social Alteration Movements ==

There have been movements promoted to alter social truths and roles that are detrimental to certain groups -- notably [[#Non-behaviourally assigned roles|ones that are assigned by reasons out of the individual's control]].

Nowadays we've got:

* Feminism, Gender Equality (against gender-wise social inequality).
* Anti-Racism (against race-wise social inequality).
* LGBTQIA+ Pride (fighting ostracism and shaming of individuals based on their sexual orientation and/or their gender-sex mismatch).
* [...]

2022-08-23T12:39:34Z

MrPedroBraga:

'''Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria ''' is a condition associated with what are deemed 'extreme' reactions to perceived or actual rejection.

Primarily associated with ADHD, there is [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929311000247 research] suggesting links to autism.

It manifests after traumatic experiences (shaming, isolation, abandonment) done (often subconsciously) by people around the individual.
RSD can contribute to feelings of worthlessness, social anxiety, and over-sensitivity, and, in general, makes it hard to create new connections. 

It can have a significant impact on the mental health of those experiencing it.

[[Category:Autistic traits]]

Neurodivergence

2022-08-23T12:31:16Z

MrPedroBraga:

Definition, history, controversies, and more about the term "neurodivergence"/"neurodivergent"!

A person is '''neurodivergent''' (as opposite to [[Neurotypical|neurotypical]]) if they have a diagnosis (professional or self-dx) of one or more of the following: Autism (ASD), ADHD, OCD, Bipolar, and ''many'' more.

Generally, the term expresses the idea of having a neurological functioning different from the typical/expected (as in most common) one.

== Difference between neurodivergence and neurodiversity ==

Neurodivergence express a quality of a person's neurology in relation to the common neurotypical one; [[Neurodiversity|neurodiversity]] expresses that there are several different neurotypes which vary from each other. A single person can be neurodivergent; you could also say "a group of neurodivergent people," who may or may not be neurodivergent in the same way as each other.

Only a group can be neurodiverse, and only if they have different neurotypes from one another. A group consisting of people with differing neurotypes (which may include neurotypicals) are a '''neurodiverse''' group.

(This article is a stub)

[[Category:Autistic paradigms and terminology]]